How much should it cost to have a gun assembled?

[Kimberkid]

I am sure this has been brought up before, but I cant find the thread and some things change over time...

Over the years I have acquired parts here and then, good deals, some trading, some prize tables, and have almost all the parts nessecary to build a new limited gun. I am not looking for anything super fancy, no goofy slide cuts or anything like that, just a good assembly job that will turn my pile-o-parts into an accurate, functional gun. I know finishing costs vary a lot, but if I brought my pile to a reputable, known gunsmith, how much should I expect for him to charge me for the this job?

[Kimberkid]

sorry, meant to add that the slide will need to be fitted to the frame also, they are both oversized and not a matched pair.

[CocoBolo]

This is going to sound a little crazy but I dropped off a box of parts 2 weeks ago with my smith and told him to build me an open gun. Since we have had a good relationship for 2 years with them doing lots of work I didn't ask, I'll find out when I pick it up. I'm guessing about $500 to $600 but that does include the trigger job, assemly, and some serious milling on the slide, slide to frame fit, barrel fitting, comp fitting, mount drilling, comp reaming and stippling the grip.. I sent the barrel out to be cut and threaded, and now they are just waiting on it to come back to finish it up. New gun in 3 weeks well works for me. I will leave it in the white for a while then take it to Ten Ring Precision for finish work $145.00. I'm curious about the responses we might see here.

[G-ManBart]

I'd expect closer to $1K to fit everything. Matt McLearn's site has some labor prices for individual work; $150 to fit a slide, $150 to fit a barrel, $100-$175 for a trigger job (depends on how light), etc. I've had a smith tell me it takes him something like 20 hours to build a complete gun, if things go normally. At a relatively normal price of $50/hr, that's a grand right there. R,

[JakeMartens]

I dropped off a box of parts with Jim Anglin of Sailors Custom in Nebraska, he did the milling and fitting and all the trigger and parts, I paid seperate for the hardchrome, his prices were very reasonable.

I would call him, I am not him and not going to put the price I paid, but I shopped it around with alot of people and he was as good or better than most and the gun is great.

[trickpony]

I have paid no less than $400 for a plain Limited gun build with parts fit and the gun functioned 100%. Ended up paying another $300 to have the gun finished the way I wanted it but it was cheap as the gun still runs 100%.

[mike cyrwus]

Good smiths will tack on a minimum 1k to build the gun, and will probably disagree with some if not many of the parts youve compiled. So dont be at all surprised if youll be buying more parts.

[CocoBolo]

Good smiths will tack on a minimum 1k to build the gun, and will probably disagree with some if not many of the parts youve compiled. So dont be at all surprised if youll be buying more parts.

Been there done that, the first thing my smith did was take the EGW sear spring out of the Trigger kit and throw it in the trash.

[Religious Shooter]

In the past I've paid about $800 which included milling in a Bomar (sight supplied by the smith).

Typically I'd expect $800-$1200 depending on the modifications needed/wanted.

[Merlin Orr]

Realistically ... Look at the prices a real custom will cost you then subtract the price of the pats - at dealer cost - and expect to pay about the difference.

[JThompson]

It's worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. To me, I won't pay more than 3k for an Open or I would shoot a box stock production and have just as much fun.

JT

Edited October 7, 2010 by JThompson

[Joe4d]

Custom builds from parts really only make practical and financial sense if you are providing your own labor or you are very particular and want a true custom gun just the way you like,

As your original post stated you just wanted a good reliable limited gun without any extra cuts, You would probably come way out ahead of the game and end up with great support selling all your parts and buying a complete Eagle or Edge from STI,

[Flexmoney]

Mike, are you going to shoot NRA AP with it too? Or, would you be less than happy if it wasn't able to do so very well?

I realize I'm not answering the question...just looking to further clarify your definition of "accurate and reliable". (which would be important for you and the smith to be on the same page on)

[diehli]

Custom builds from parts really only make practical and financial sense if you are providing your own labor or you are very particular and want a true custom gun just the way you like,

Or if, as in the OP's case, you've got a box full of parts already in hand that you got at discounted prices or off of prize tables. Bird in the hand and all that.

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: It will depend on your parts that you have. Most shops work on time and material basis so it may take more time to make your parts work than other parts that they normally use. I think the $800-$1000 is more like what you are going to see from a good gunsmith using your good parts. Thanks, Eric

[dlee14]

Revisit your list of buddies that will work for beer! Honestly, a mixed bag of parts can lead to countless hours of fitting and tuning. The parts available for 1911 guns vary widely in specifications and dimensions. Building/assembling a AR15 is a piece of cake compared to a 1911. If you want or expect a finely tuned gun that is accurate and reliable; then buy a factory gun from Kimber/STI etc. But if all you expect is a rattling assembly of parts that looks like a 1911 and goes bang most of the time, then have a buddy help you out. Better yet, do it yourself as a learning project. Brownells has a few guides and books that explain the inner workings very well. After building your own gun, especially from mixed parts, you will really understand the gun. Way back when the earth was just cooling off and I started shooting, I could not find a local gunsmith to build me a reliable open gun. So I took on the project myself and found that I enjoy building/fixing guns more than shooting them. Good luck with the project.

[raz-0]

I had a box of parts turned into a gun. All the cutting on the slide to finish t he bald slide was about $390.  That was some slide cuts, front and rear sight cuts, and tri-topping the slide. Ttoal build was $1000 including shipping it back to me. So...

 

[calishootr]

back in theday my last shoe box full o' parts that turned into an opengun cost me not as much as i would have thought, butthen again living out here on the left coast buying a factory gun offthe rack is not an option for us(wont get into all the laws that are in play) but i was happy with what i got, it had all the features i have come to like in/on a gun

btw...shop rates out here are roughly 150 bucks an hr.

[benny hill]

About a $1000.00 give or take on a limited gun & about $1400.00 open.

[Kimberkid]

Thanks for all the replies guys, I really appreciate it. This didnt start out as a money saving thing, I just ended up collecting misc parts, and they now equal enough to make a gun. I think a lot of us could do this, minus a frame, if we just dug through our pile of spare crap. I got a couple emails from different smiths and it seems like the neighborhood of $1k or so will be where it is. I suspect this is also like most things, that you will likely get what you pay for. I can see some logic behind selling the stuff I have and putting it toward a stock Edge or into gunsmith supplied parts, but I am not a big fan of STI factory guns, and I do prefer most of the parts in my pile.

Flex, This wont be an AP gun, USPSA limited only. I still have my AP gear, but am happy with it how it is, and since AP is pretty much dead in Indiana, and a job change, I shoot almost only USPSA and Steel the last couple years. As with every gun, I need it to run 100% with any ammo I feed it, but for accuracy I would be super happy with 2.5 inches at 25 yards. The biggest thing to me is that it fits and feel solid. I will be forever suprised at the difference in feel between factory guns and a gun that was properly fitted, hand lapped, and that grease on glass feel of a truly custom gun.

I was interested in some slide lightening, but figured that would be a significant cost increase. I had sort of anticipated $500 to $700 for the basic work. If I am gonna pay $1k for the basic work, then I might be willing to spring a little more for some of the other stuff I had considered. I have never paid for smith work before, as I had a labor sponsorship from a local smith a couple years ago, and all my other smithing work was from friends who worked for beer and pizza.

Thanks again for all the responses, and if anyone has a preffered but less known smith that is worth a shot, I would love to hear it, though perhaps PM would be a more appropriate form.

[sidnal]

Thanks for starting this thread. You got some great responses.

[sidnal]

Thanks for starting this thread. You got some great responses.

I'm especially interested b/c my gunsmith has a box of parts right now...